James Gibbons

James Gibbons (23 July 1834-24 March 1921) was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Baltimore from 3 October 1877 to 24 March 1921, succeeding James Roosevelt Bayley and preceding Michael Joseph Curley.

Biography
James Gibbons was born in Baltimore, Maryland on 23 July 1834, the son of Irish immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland. In 1839, the family moved back to Ireland, where Gibbons received his early education; the family returned to the United States in 1853, six years after Gibbons' father died, and they settled in New Orleans, Louisiana. Gibbons entered St. Charles College in 1855, and he would become an ordained priest in 1861. In 1865, he became private secretary to Archbishop Martin John Spalding, and he became the first Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina on 3 March 1868. There were fewer than 700 Catholics in the state, but he befriended Protestants and found ways to preach to both Catholics and Protestants. He became an acquaintance of every President from Andrew Johnson to Warren G. Harding, serving as an adviser to several of them. In 1872, he became Bishop of Richmond, serving until he became Archbishop of Baltimore in 1877. Gibbons advocated for the protection of labor, as he was concerned with the exploitation of Catholic immigrant laborers. He received Papal permission for Catholics to join labor unions, and he defended the Knights of Labor. In 1886, he was appointed to the College of Cardinals, and he died in Baltimore in 1921 at the age of 86.